1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an open-end wrench utilizing a spring-activated, oscillatable pawl and has for its object and purpose to provide rotation or control of hardware or material. A further object of the invention is to provide said action while also allowing a reliable ratcheting characteristic. An important aspect of this invention resides in the influx of compression and resulting friction to provide such action of rotation or control; with such compression increasing upon demand during operation of the invention with such aspect providing positive control over said hardware or material to the point of reliable function with worn hardware, as well as its application with different shapes of material. The geometry involved in the function of this tool is such as to allow release of this compression during operation, thus providing said ratcheting effect.
2. Description of the Related Art
The original basis of development of this tool was to provide a suitable device as to facilitate the installation or removal of coaxial CATV house wire fittings which utilize 7/16″ hex nut hardware. The abbreviation CATV originally stood for Community Access Television or Community Antenna Television and is often used to mean “Cable TV”. Due to their configuration in conjunction with coaxial wire, this hardware requires the application of an open-end tool. Although improving speed of handling of such hardware was the inspiration for development of this tool, a multitude of problems inherent to open-end wrenches has been overcome in the process, as will become evident hereafter.
The CATV fittings, in many instances, requires the application of a tool through the entire installation or removal process through 5 to 7 complete revolutions due to friction caused by oxidation of adjoining hardware and use of rubber “boots” to seal out moisture. The positioning of such hardware, located in close proximity to other hardware or material, also necessitates the use of a tool as to manipulate. The common tool of choice is the standard open-end wrench, which, though simple and reliable, requires multiple independent movements to use. To use the standard open-end wrench, it needs to be very deliberately aligned, inserted over the hardware, rotated, removed, and finally re-aligned for each individual movement of the hardware.
There are variations of this standard tool as to minimize these movements, i.e. so called “speed wrenches”, which utilize a notched configuration to minimize interference with the hardware on the “return stroke”. This allows for a ratcheting effect which works well “on the bench”, but when put into practice, functions poorly or intermittently due to the fact that these tools must be deliberately maintained at a 90 degree position to the hardware to function. When such tools are applied as a fitting wrench, the difficulty of this aspect is magnified due the simple fact that fittings are “free standing”, i.e. there is no backing surface to serve as a guide to maintain this 90 degree angle. The result is frequent misalignment equating to the hardware simply moving back and forth with the tool, and the promise of speed quickly transforms into frustration.
Aside from poor handling characteristics, open-end wrenches exhibit another very distinct flaw; this aspect clearly evident upon applying torque. Due the fact that these tools utilize the specific shape of the hardware to function, i.e. the “flat” portions of hexagonal hardware, upon applying torque, the holding point of contact is transferred to the weakest point of the structure of the hardware, that being the outermost edges of the hexagonal shape. Compounding this situation is the direction of stress involved, which is radial (rotational). This combination of dynamics creates a diminishing holding point, directly related to the amount of torque applied. This situation severely limits the function of the tool, due to the threat of failure of the hardware (rounding over).
Also, these tools are generally fabricated ‘flat’, i.e. approximately ⅛″ thick, which requires a wide configuration to maintain structural strength. This aspect further limits their use, as clearance becomes an issue.
Some tools incorporate a round hardware enclosure like the present invention. An example of this can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,602,362. However, those tools exhibit two very important flaws. The most obvious flaw is the previously described situation concerning applied torque which is magnified due to the utilization of only a single holding point.
The other flaw of those tools is not so obvious, and concerns the implementation of a round void to maintain the relative position of the hardware. More specifically, the round void relies upon the outer circumference of the hardware to provide positioning in relation to its contact point of the pawl. When those tools are applied upon worn hardware with rounded over edges, such hardware finds a location further from its contact point with the pawl, and due the fact that the configuration of the pawl does not compensate for this condition, a poor holding characteristic is further weakened.
This tool addresses all these drawbacks related to open-end wrenches. It does so by employing a round hardware enclosure and utilizing dynamics to transfer rotational energy to an inward compression aspect, with such characteristics to provide function on worn, round, or other shaped material. This compression action provides an extremely positive holding characteristic, while also allowing a consistent ratcheting capability. The present invention is a simple and economical design which utilizes only one moving piece. In short, the present invention is a very dependable tool which handles much as a standard ratcheting socket wrench, with such handling and reliability delivered as to include the benefits of an open-end configuration.